How Love Won

John 12:20–28 NKJV

20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

I want to talk to you about how the love of God won over the power of sin and death and how that is model for victory in your own life.

As they say, the struggle is real.

I think the problem for most of us is that it is hard to figure out how to break the cycles that seem to trap us.

Have you ever heard of the term, “the upside-down kingdom?” It comes from the idea that the kingdom of heaven is nothing like the kingdoms of this world. Jesus often did things exactly the opposite than you’d expect.

To overcome, like Jesus, we must learn the way of surrender and defeat.

And though this doesn’t make much sense, you will find that when you learn this you will rest in the victory—the love—of Christ.

Redeemed Through Love

Not only do we face the struggles of natural life, like traffic and rising gas prices, but we face relational, emotional, and spiritual ones as well.

We get caught in destructive cycles and habits and strive to find our way. We often feel alone and isolated in our struggles.

No matter what we do, often it’s as though nothing seems to work. We need to discover a strength beyond our own and find a way that works.

What we really need is to learn how to walk the path of surrender in faith and love like Jesus did. This way—gaining victory through defeat—was the way that God used to redeem man. This was the way that love won.

In Genesis 2:15-25, we find the story of God with Adam in the garden. God places Adam there to keep and tend the garden (Genesis 2:15). This is different than the command to subdue and conquer and bring order to creation in Genesis 1:28. In the garden, Adam names the animals and eventually discovers that there is none like him. God declares that it is not good for man to be alone. God causes a deep sleep to overcome Adam and takes one of his ribs to fashion Eve. Together, for them, God’s declaration is good.

What are we to say here? Things were not good for Adam while he was alone. He was overpowered and defeated…and then he found a companion.

Fast forward to Jesus (cf. Ephesians 5:25-28).

God wanted a people, Jesus wanted a bride, a companion so to speak. He surrendered to the cross and to the sleep of death (cf. John 11:11-15). And out of His sacrifice the church was born.

As Adam gave of himself for a suitable companion, Jesus gave Himself for a bride, for you. This is how love has won. Victory was secured through defeat.

How We Overcome

Jesus wasted nothing. Not words. Not actions. Not silence. Not inaction. Everything He did was to show us the ways of God and abundant life in the kingdom.

His words to those who came to Him on that day offer us insight into these was and this life.

We Must Die to Self

John 12:24 NKJV

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Dying to self means exchanging loneliness for fruitfulness.

The single, solitary grain of wheat has potential in itself. But that potential is not realized as long as it remains alone.

But when it dies to itself, it produces much fruit. Its reach goes beyond itself. All that it has to offer is not limited to itself but it is multiplied for others.

The simple lesson is that we need to choose to live a life for others. We live for the glory of God. We live for the goodness of others.

If we want to overcome and live a victorious life we need to die to our own selfish inclinations and tendencies. When we esteem others as more highly than ourselves and not only look out for our own interests but the interests of others we will overcome (Philippians 2:3-4).

Illustration: Being bitten by a brown recluse spider and developing necrosis. The only way to save the life is to lose the hand.

The only way that we can save our lives is to die to the parts that are corrupted.

The way love won was to die to self for the sake of others. Jesus gave His life so that others could live (Mark 10:45). As we give of ourselves, we too will bring life to others.

We Must Hate This Life

John 12:25 NKJV

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Jesus is using a bit of rhetoric to show the gap between the natural life and kingdom living. This is a comparison that shows just how different they are.

To die that we might not die! There is no contradiction here, for there are before us two kinds of dying: a dying to be sought and a dying to be avoided at any cost.

A. W. Tozer

James 4:4 M:BCL

You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.

This is among the hardest of things: hating this life. But it is crucial that in comparison to heavenly pursuits all else surrenders.

The first two times Jesus says life, it is the word psyche or soul. The last time it is the word zoe or divine life.

Loving our soul means living only for this life. It means living for the things that the world pursues. It ignores or denies eternal life and instead it pursues pleasure in this life.

Illustration: In 1981 Wildlife photographer Carl McCunn went into the Alaskan wilderness with 500 rolls of film, 1400lbs of provisions, 2 rifles and a shotgun. He planned to be photograph wildlife for about 5 months, expecting to be retrieved by his pilot in August. The problem—he didn’t arrange for the departure. He went in prepared for everything but to leave.

If we aren’t careful we will focus so much on this life that we will neglect the next. Everyone dies (Hebrews 9:27). Everyone. No exceptions. But if you live this life with the next one in mind you will keep it.

Jesus lived mindful of what was to come. There was joy waiting on the other side of the cross (Hebrews 12:2). The joy of you and me and whosever will being together with Him forever (Romans 10:13).

Love won by counting this life, and its suffering, as nothing worthy compared to the glory of the next (Romans 8:18).

We Must Serve the Lord

John 12:26–28 NKJV

26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

Serving the Lord means following Him and His example. But more than that it means being where He is.

We can serve ourselves—our will and desires—or we can serve the Lord.

This idea of serving the Lord must be seen in light of the sowing of the seed and of eternal life. This is taking up of our cross to follow Him (Luke 9:23).

It means learning to love Him and honor Him just as He loved the Father and honored Him. Those that choose the love of Christ over the love of self will find glory and honor from God.

Illustration: Matthew 25:31-40 — serving the Lord by serving the poor, hungry, imprisoned, lost, etc.

Love won by serving the will of God. It overcame, even in the face of pain and suffering, by choosing God over self. It choose to be with Him wherever that might be.

Conclusion

How did love win? It wasn’t by violence or arguments or attempts to preserve self.

Love won through loss. Victory was gained through defeat.

When we die to self we are no longer alone and give up loneliness for fruitfulness.

Choosing the ways of Jesus and the life of God means that we hate this life in comparison.

And serving the Lord and following Him means that we will be where He is, always.

Because of His redeeming love, we live.

Romans 8:31–39 NKJV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let’s choose to live in the love of God. To win in life in the same way God’s love won for us. If we do, nothing will separate us and overcome us.

And the same love that set us free will flow from us and help others get set free as well.